


Four | The Dad |

by Kyoupann



Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Four (Linked Universe)-centric, Gen, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Linked Universe, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), all the boys will be here eventually, panic attacks (brief), will update tags as the chapters are posted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26095843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyoupann/pseuds/Kyoupann
Summary: 8 times Four is a dad to the Links.Alternatively:Four | The Dad, The Hero, The Legend | in honour to that mug.
Comments: 32
Kudos: 155





	1. Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I assigned a number to each Link and rolled a dice and got Sky for the first chapter hell yeehaw babeeeeyy.

Sky wasn’t one to get angry easily. No, he could handle anger and discomfort far longer than any of his teammates. A snarky comment? No problem, he grew up with those! He can list off the top his head one and a million names he had been called since he had a memory. Sure, at the time they had bothered him, but he had learnt to grow past mean names and insults to the point he could laugh about it. Probably not a great coping mechanism, but it worked. It usually took him weeks of constant pestering to make him snap, and even then, his anger would never really last more than a couple of hours, and a couple of days at its worst.

This situation, however, was completely different. Because it’s been 2 weeks since he last spoke to Legend, and no one in the group seemed to be trying to get them to reconcile. Maybe it was because this quarrel wasn’t really affecting their progress nor their performance in battles; they all still fought as usual, they would aid one another without a second thought, but as soon as the battle was over and the adrenaline washed out of their system, they would go back to silence and cold stares. Sky didn’t particularly like it… but he couldn’t deny that he just couldn’t not see the Veteran differently. Not for now, at least.

And it’s not like Legend had tried to make amends with him, either! Ever since that day, Legend’s repertoire of sarcastic comments had been decreased to target only Hylia. Whether or not he knew that Sky could hear him, he didn’t care. The fact that Legend had the nerve to talk shit about their Goddess, his Goddess, in front of him only served as fuel to the fire in his stomach. On top of all… Legend was insufferable, he was worst than a child at times. If there was someone who could commit to silent treatment religiously, it was their local hoarder. He should’ve suspected as much. However, there’s no rule that states two can’t play the game, and so Sky had suddenly forgotten the existence of the Hero of Legend in return.

So, there he was, sat against the bark of a tree, a couple of feet away from the rest of the group. They had settled for the night and were now waiting for Wild to be done cooking dinner. He had separated himself from the group on his own accord; he was tired, mentally and physically, and didn’t feel like putting up with any of Legend’s comments and glares. He was fiddling with his carving knife around his fingers to pass the time. He could try and carve something out of the small chunk of wood just a foot away from him, but he doubted it would be any good given how tense and drained his muscles and mind felt, respectively.

He just didn’t understand. Why did Legend have to be so… mean, rude, even cruel, towards the Goddess? Why Hylia? He hardly ever dissed any other deities from his time. Not even the three Goddesses. He just couldn’t comprehend how he could turn their head away from the light that was the love and compassion of the Goddess? In his humble opinion, Hylia, who had shed her divinity for her people and the land she loved, did not deserve such slander from one of her chosen heroes.

He wanted to understand, really, he did. But it was difficult when all he could hear was Legend scowling at any mention of Her. The others, if they had any differing opinions, at least had the decency of keeping stoic faces. He had yet to ask the rest of their group what their opinions on Her Grace were, but that would have to wait. He wasn’t keen on being on the wrong side of more heroes for the time being.

He felt a slight tap on top of his hair, his head jerked up from where he was looking at the knife in his hands. Four was smiling down at him, albeit faintly, holding a steaming bowl in each hand

“Sorry if I scared ya,” he gave him an apologetic look and offered him one of the bowls, “but I did call you first.”

“Thank you,” Sky accepted the bowl and looked at its contents; steamed rice and vegetables. He made a note to thank Wild later for not putting any meat in his food. “I really didn’t notice you, I’m sorry.”

Four looked briefly at the group behind him and then turned to Sky, “do you want company?”

Sky shrugged. Did he want company? He didn’t really know. He didn’t feel like he would be the most fun to be around at the moment. He certainly didn’t want to make Four uncomfortable with his sour mood. He was about to open his mouth to tell him he could go back to the others if he wanted when he heard Four plop down next to him.

He didn’t pay it more attention and they started eating in silence. It didn’t matter that they started at the same time, by the time he was finished he noticed Four had barely eaten a bit more than half of his bowl. Either Four was a slow eater, a very slow one, or he had devoured his meal in minutes. He spared a glance towards the campfire, everyone was finished too and were now cleaning up. He put his bowl to the side and brought out his knife again to manoeuvre between his fingers.

He played with the knife without much care, his attention focusing on the other side of camp where the rest of their group was. Wind was now in the middle of telling one of his pirate stories, entertaining everyone around the fire. Hyrule and Warriors were encouraging him with loud claps and exaggerate reactions to match the Sailor’s expressive retelling. Wild had found his place between Time and Twilight, the three of them listening attentively to the story. And finally, his eyes settled on Legend, his chin resting on his hand, the faintest smile creeping on his relaxed face as he watched Wind walk around the fire. He didn’t hate Legend, he told himself; Legend was a good person, even if he tried to hide it. He missed the company, for sure, but he also realised that he was not looking forward to making his way back to the campfire. Now they were distracted, but as soon as they saw him get close, they would stare. He could already feel everyone’s eyes on him, expectant for his or Legend’s next move. As much as he appreciated each and every hero, they could be too nosy for their own good.

“Sky,” Four called him, a tint of confusion? No, hesitance to his voice. “Hey, are you… are you okay?”

A beat of silence and then he let out a sigh.

“Do I look okay?”

“You look like shit.”

That managed to get a bitter chuckle from him. He should’ve figured as much. But he doesn’t blame Four for pointing it out, he knows he hasn’t been the same in days, and the screaming match he had had with the other hero was finally catching up to him.

Resigned, he said, “I’m just thinking.”

“Do you want to talk?” Four wasn’t looking at him, he was giving him as much space as he could while still being close, “I believe it would do you good to voice those thoughts out.”

Sky didn’t reply immediately, and he was sure he felt Four shift a little further away, still taking small spoons of rice to his mouth. He knew Four was just trying to help, he really appreciated him and his efforts, but he didn’t even know how to make sense of his turmoil of thoughts; let alone, arranging them in a way that wouldn’t sound strong, decisive but not forceful. While he knew Four had no ill intentions, he couldn’t help but fill wary of him. What if he turned like the Legend? What if he didn’t want to hear what he had to say just like him? He isn’t sure he can take that again, not from Four.

It was a scary thought he didn’t realise bugged him.

“It’s just… I don’t know where to start…” he admitted, carefully selecting the words to use before Four could get up and leave, “you saw what happened with Legend and I… I just don’t understand?”

Four hummed in acknowledgement, probably thinking back to the day when all this mess started. After all, it had been quite a scene for everyone.

Sky hugged his knees to his chest and placed his head on top of them, “I don’t understand his disdain for Hylia, he won’t say a word about it. He just… hates Her,” he turned his head to find Four looking at him with a focused look in his face while chewing a mouthful of rice “ I wish he would talk about it, and then maybe he would realise he doesn’t hate her.”

Four hummed again and nodded, “you were pretty angry that day, I would even say you looked furious.”

“Furious? Oh, I was!” Sky let out a sardonic chuckle, “Angry? I am.”

Four didn’t comment on that, letting them slip back into silence. As comfortable as it could be with one of them eating and the other reliving said day and listing off word by word the blasphemy against Her Grace thrown by the Veteran. Yes, he didn’t like what he had said about Her, but Sky didn’t hate him. Hate was too strong of a word to use, he couldn’t bring himself to say he hated something or someone… except running, he despised running. He shook his head as a sour smile crept upon his face, he put his knife away.

He rewound to the early thought of what the rest of the group believed. He figured that if he were to feel safe and ask someone, it would be Four. Not because he thinks that he would agree with him, but because Four just seemed to be the most well-put-together of their rag-tag group, definitely excelling in the maturity department in contrast to half of the heroes. Yet, there was so much he didn’t know about Four, the boy kept so many secrets. Sky was aware of his aversion to magic, only comfortable using his own magic items. But somehow, deep down, Sky was sure that faith was a topic he could discuss with him.

“What do you think?” he found himself looking at Four, catching his eyes open in surprise.

“Me?”

He pointed the spoon at his chest and Sky nodded, a tiny smile tugging at his lips.

Four went silent and looked down at the bowl resting on his lap. His brows furrowed, deep in thought. Sky’s smile vanished, Four had turned awfully quiet and his faced screamed hesitation, confusion, and finally, indifference. Sure, sometimes someone would ask Four a question and he would take five seconds to answer; but this time, Sky feared he might have broken him for good.

“Err… you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” Sky said after a good minute of silence, “I understand if you don’t want to talk about that with me, considering what happened.”

Four shook his head and gave him a reassuring smile, “no, it’s fine. You just caught me off guard.” Four set the unfinished bowl aside and hugged himself, rubbing his hands along his arms, “I just haven’t really thought about that in a while. But the short answer to your question is that I don’t have an opinion on Her,” Four looked at him and laughed sheepishly, “you see, my family is devoted to the Golden Goddesses, and more specifically, entrusted our protection to Farore. That’s where my faith lays, if you wondered.”

Sky nodded in understanding, yet there was something in Four’s answer that didn’t sit well with him. It felt like something was missing… but then again, he was conscious that Four’s answer was not about him and it didn’t have to sit well with him, but maybe, just maybe…

“Of course, I’m a Hylian and I have some kind of affection for Hylia. But in my eyes, she is no more than my Goddesses. She did what she had to do and I have Zelda with me and, for that, I am grateful to her.” Four nodded at him, signalling that he was over.

He tried not to look disappointed with the answer he got, but he was sure he failed; a slight frown appeared on Four’s face and he quickly turned his face away. And so did he. Sky wasn’t sure what to think of it. Sure, they didn’t share the same idea, but at least wasn’t rude about it. Legend had outright refused to talk to him and only proceeded to mock him for what he believed.

“I’m sorry, Four,” Sky said, “it’s not that I disapprove of what you said… I guess it’s hard for me to imagine a life where I don’t believe in her, you know?”

And maybe, that’s what this whole conflict was all about. They were supposed to share the same spirit, right? The very same spirit that is bound to Her… so how, exactly, can there be other heroes that do not like Her Grace? In his eyes, it just seems absurd. At this point in his life, he can’t picture a day, much less a life, where he doesn’t love her.

Four laughed lightly, “well, we’re all pretty far apart from each other in history. Beliefs change, Sky, but that doesn’t mean any of us is more right than the other.”

Silence reigned once again and Sky took a moment to think about Four’s words. He didn’t have a problem with that. He didn’t want to prove them anything. He knew they had the right to believe, or not to believe, anything they wanted to believe. All he was asking for was a bit of respect for Her, for him.

“Can I tell you what I think of all this, Sky?” Four broke the silence and took him out of his thoughts.

“I’d be glad to hear it, Four,” he said, but he wasn’t sure if he really meant it.

Four turned his full body towards him, giving Sky his complete attention; expecting the same from him.

“You’re the nicest guy I’ve met, Sky,” Four started, “and that is saying a lot. You’re so kind and unbelievably selfless. I know that if I were a deity, I’d be delighted to have someone as devoted as you under my blessing, “ Sky blushed a bit at that and when he nodded, Four took it as a sign to continue, “and I’m sure that you already know what I’m going to tell you, but you need it to be said to your face.”

Four extended his hand, motioning for Sky to take it. He held him tightly and locked his eyes on him.

"Your opinion is valuable, but you can't force it on others,” Four smiled, and started rubbing circles with his thumb in Sky’s hand, “you can’t tell the Vet to think differently about Her. What you can do is show him, us, why you think the way you do. Deities do not need us to worship them, but to practice their values and what they stand for.”

Sky wishes his surprise wasn’t evident, but he is aware of how loud his gasp was. The same intake of air that made him choke lightly. Somehow, Four had been right; he already knew that. It was the first thing he had been taught all those years ago back in Skyloft. Although he must admit, he never gave it much attention; he had never had to confront anyone about their lack of respect for Hylia. In his time, she was the ultimate depiction of love, loyalty, and righteousness, why would anyone separate themselves from Her? It had never crossed his mind that he was also to blame for their little quarrel and misunderstanding. How could he let his faith blind him so badly? He has yet to understand how her message of unconditional love seems to have been distorted and eventually forgotten down the line. But that shouldn’t worry him much, he’s got the opportunity to entrust himself to her and as much as he wanted others to know her love, he had to accept that not all his teammates had been fortunate to do so, and that was perfectly okay.

And after two weeks, a genuine smile finally tugged at the corner of his lips, which then turned into a full grin. He smiled brightly at Four, who then smiled back. He didn’t waste more time and enveloped the smaller hero into a tight hug.

“Thank you for listening, Four,” he breathed and only hugged him tighter when he felt Four accept his embrace, “thank you for talking to me.”

They pulled away, bright smiles still on their faces. Four let out a tiny laugh that he tried to muffle with the back of his hand. He picked up his forgotten bowl, stood up and offered his free hand to Sky.

“Let’s go near the fire, I’m freezing.”

Sky nodded and accepted the hand, not that it did anything to help him stand up. But Four’s grip never faltered, and he let himself be guided towards the group. And suddenly, the idea of walking back to them did not seem to be as scary as he once had imagined. He trusted Four’s comforting smile, so he squeezed his hand in response; holding Four’s hand was enough, and more than he needed, to know that everything would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Being (practically) married to a Goddess must be wack.... hmm at first I had Sky have conflict with both Time and Legend, but after skimming through the comics, I realised that Time only has beef with the sword and not Hylia herself ksksks so I scratched that out and left Legend because if someone has the right to be done with Hylia's whole hero business is Legend, lol.
> 
> Please don't think all chapters are going to be this serious. After all, this fic is just an excuse to write some crack taken seriously. Next chapter is Wind, tho! (: and it's already finished so I shouldn't take long to update.
> 
> Thank you for reading <3 any kudos/comments are deeply appreciated.  
>  If you wanna chat about LU/LOZ in general come hmu @kyoupann on tumblr! c:


	2. Wind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> half the gang violates articles 12 and 13 of the UN convention on the rights of the child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for this chapter  
> Implied/referenced underage drinking  
> Brief description of a panic attack (one sentence)
> 
> (Let me know if you need anything else tagged!)

One, two, three,

He aimed at nothing in particular, his arm stretched behind his back. He took a step back and shifted his weight to his right foot. Releasing a swift swing of his arm and wrist, he sent the pebble in his hand flying close to the water until it started to bounce off the surface.

One, two, three, four,

He groaned.

He tugged at his hair in desperation.

With another pebble in hand, he tried again. And again, and again.

One, two, three, four, five, si-

Five. It sank.

He kept tossing rock after rock. The sun finally was sinking below the horizon, its reflection on the lake blinding him temporarily. But that didn’t stop him from throwing another rock into the water, his swing less graceful than when he started; angrier and stronger than intended.

This was supposed to calm him down. Why wasn’t it working? Instead of making him forget the events of the day, every pebble he threw reminded him of each word that had spilt from his unfiltered mouth. Every pebble he threw, another reminder of why he couldn’t walk back into camp. Not yet.

Not ever.

_“What were you thinking?!”_

One,

_“Are you serious? Is this how you show how mature you are?!”_

One, two, three,

_“You’re just slowing us down with shit like this!”_

One, two, three, four, five, six,

_“I am disappointed in you, kid.”_

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, ni-

Twigs snapped under pressure and footsteps drowned the final splash.

“That was cool.”

Wind turned around briefly, he stared at Four for a second before returning his attention to the ripples his last rock had created.

He heard Four approach, his footsteps becoming lighter the closer he got to the shore. Wind shrugged, a delayed response to Four’s comment. He grabbed another stone at his feet and threw it, only skipping four times before it sank just like the others.

He was about to grab another one, but was stopped in the middle of bending down by the sound of clapping cutting through the silence and resonating off the trees around them. Wind spared him a confused look as if he couldn’t believe Four was really impressed by that lame throw. He probably was just humouring him.

“Really?” he asked, his left eyebrow rising high, “it sucked, it wasn’t my best shot.”

Four nodded eagerly, “well, I find it impressive, I swear.”

A faint smiled pulled at his lips, but never quite formed. He knew what Four was trying to do; he wasn’t being very subtle. Whether it was on purpose or not, he didn’t know. But what he did know was that he did not like it. He’d prefer to be left alone to sulk in his own misery, thank you very much. He scoffed at the thought and turned fully to face Four.

“You don’t have to do this, you know!” he said a bit harsher than intended, but hopefully enough to make Four hate him for good and leave.

“Do what?” Four asked so obliviously it almost hurt.

Wind groaned and threw his arms in the air.

“This,” he gestured vaguely between the two, “It’s annoying!!”

Four did nothing but frown slightly, and then he shrugged,

“Do what, exactly?” It might’ve not been there, but Wind could hear a teasing smile.

“Whatever the fuck you call this! Intervention?!” he huffed and then crossed his arms, “I’ll have you know that I don’t want it!”

Wind turned his back to him and said nothing more. He blocked out whatever was behind him and set his gaze on the golden waters in front of him. The sun was soon to be completely out of his view, just a matter of minutes before the sky turned a pretty shade of apricot and pink. He could already tell that this was a sunset he would’ve enjoyed any other time, one that he could’ve sat down and watched in company of Twilight. If only he hadn’t picked up that flask and fucked up big time…

He sighed heavily. A too familiar knot starting to form in his throat; the sensation of needles stinging his eyes forcing him to blink repeatedly.

He turns around and bits his bottom lip, anxiety starting to build up quickly in him. Four is still there, but he has retreated a bit further away from the shore, where the soil isn’t as wet and allowed him to sit down. Wind looks at him, and rather than feeling anger, like he initially had, he feels the weight of his words starting to sink him further down. And just like the sunset and the skipping stones, it’s just a matter of counting one, two, three before he draws in a breath between trembling lips.

He doesn’t need to see Four pat the patch of green next to him, he is already making his way over to him. He drops his entire body down next to the shortest hero, hitting his arm on the way down on accident. He sits crisscrossed, and his arms imitated the position in front of his chest.

Wind notes that Four doesn’t acknowledge him. Instead, he just stretches his legs and leans back on his arms. Wind pretends he is looking at the pretty colours in the sky, but flinches immediately as he is caught stealing glances at Four.

But Four still says nothing.

Wind hates the silence that is starting to die by the sound of the nocturnal creatures waking from their slumber; a sign that they will have to go back anytime soon. He doesn’t want to—he really doesn’t want, _can’t_ see the other’s faces—hell, he can’t even see directly at Four for more than two seconds before feeling shame creep up on him.

“I don’t need a babysitter, you know,” he said without any real intention other than drowning the sound of the cicadas in the trees. “I can take care of myself.”

Four hummed in agreement.

“That’s good because I’ll let you know that I’m a terrible babysitter,” Four said casually.

Wind chuckled and shook his head, “I don’t believe you.”

Another hum, “yep, as much as I hate to admit it,” he paused and let out a long sigh, adding to the effect of being completely hurt, “kids simply do not take you seriously when you share the same height as them.”

A snort escaped him and Wind quickly covered his mouth with his hands, trying to conceal the noise, but failing miserably. Four laughs too, even if it feels a bit forced.

“Can you teach me?” Four asks, and only after Wind gave him a quizzed look did he elaborate, “how to skip stones.”

To say he is confused is an understatement, but he nods nonetheless.

Four removes his boots and places them next to Wind’s. They move over to the shoreline, feet sinking into the wet, cold soil. Wind grabs two stones and hands one to Four.

“You just grab it like this and your arm goes like this,” Wind demonstrated, “you don’t swing your arm, just flip your wrist.” He threw the rock and watched it skip five times before sinking.

Four followed his instructions. When he thought he was ready, he looked at Wind for approval. The sailor gave him a thumbs up and only then he proceeded to throw the rock, making it bounce only once before plummeting into the water.

Wind snickers, “it’s not about strength, just how quick you do it,” he searches for another pair of flat rocks, “let’s do it again.”

And so they continue throwing rocks for the next couple minutes. The quiet of the lake is disturbed by the echo of their laughter. By the time the sky casts an amber tint over them. Wind has lost count of how many times Four has tried before he finally gets his rock to bounce off three times.

Wind feels tension he hadn’t noticed fade away with his laughter; air finally coming into his lungs naturally. He takes a step back and visibly relaxes his muscles. He watches Four throw another rock, sadly disappearing after a second bounce. Now that his body feels lighter, there is no weight trying to distract him from his thoughts. And he guesses that now, standing behind Four under a pretty sunset, is the perfect moment for his mind to torment him with the reminder of what he did wrong.

He had grabbed a flask and drank from it, so what? The Captain did the same every other day, even behind Time’s back. The only difference between Warrior and him is that he got caught red handed and with more than a few shots on him. It’s not like a little bit of alcohol in his system would make his fighting sloppy, anyways. It was completely hypocrite of Warrior to get mad at him for drinking when he did it too. That is something Wind can’t stand.

He wasn’t surprised that Legend also got in a few words for him. Somehow, he felt like he had some authority over him for being older and having been on more adventures. If he thought about it, Legend was being a hypocrite too; maybe he doesn’t do shit that makes them take a day out, but he sure does a lot of inconsiderate shit that most often than not hurts others without realising. At least Wind’s actions only affected him.

Then there’s Twilight, who managed to make him feel not only awfully guilty but also dirty; the scum of the earth. Just a look from Twilight was enough to make him feel like he had purposefully and personally wronged him and his goats. His stern voice sent shivers down his spine. He had never heard him talk to Wild like that, he had never even seen him so pissed off! He was sure that if he used that same tone and look on the cook, he wouldn’t be getting into trouble so often.

Yet, the worst of all of them was Time. Just thinking about him hurt. Time didn’t even need to look at him to make him know how bad he had screwed up. But he did. He looked at him and spoke loud and clear for him, and everyone, to hear. Four words was all it took to sober him up on the spot. And he wants to be angry at Time, but how could he when he was the Hero he had looked up to for so long? It hurt. He wasn’t angry at Time for what he said, but for how he made him feel.

It wasn’t fair.

And he thinks and replays the scene once again. The oldest members—plus Legend—corner him and he is _so_ drunk and _so_ scared, they aren’t shouting, but his voices are loud enough to make him recoil into himself. He looks around and he can see the rest of their group listening but also not doing anything to try and help him; proof that they aren’t on his side for this one.

And Time’s final comment is enough to set him off, so he lashes out and spits what he thinks are truths in that moment. He points an accusatory finger at Warrior and Legend, swats Twilight’s hand trying to get a hold of him and calls him something he dares not repeat again, just so then he turns his back on Time, like he had done to him before. It’s now that the others try to intervene.

Wild grabs his hand, but he yanks it away, not without giving him some curse words in the process. He walks away from their little confrontation spot, bumping into Hyrule and Sky on his way out. He kindly tells them to fuck off and mind his own business like they had been doing until now. And he just keeps walking and walking across the clearing, he knows someone was calling him, probably Hyrule, but he doesn’t turn around. He’s walking so fast; he doesn’t want them to see how red his eyes have become, but he senses someone walking behind him—no, running—and it’s Four trying to catch up with him. But he’s had enough of everyone’s insults, so when Four finally reaches him, Wind just shoves him away, sending him down to the ground, because it’s easy and he’s angry. And if the push wasn’t enough, he makes sure his words are.

And that’s how he found himself throwing rocks at a lake for hours after crying and drowning his screams into the water. He couldn’t go back, not after all that. They must probably hate him even more now. Why would they want to continue travelling with him? He is sure he doesn’t.

Still.

He focuses his sight in front of him and Four is standing there, humming a melody that he doesn’t know but manages to ground him and aid him from reliving one of the most unpleasant days of his life. Four is still there, even after all the shit he has done. More than being mad at the rest, he is starting to feel bad for being rude to the last half of the group. They only wanted to help.

“I’m sorry.”

There’s honesty in his voice, but that doesn’t stop it from cracking at the end. There is something in Four’s silence that makes him question if he had really said anything out loud, so he shuffles a bit in place.

“I said some nasty stuff back there,” he elaborates, not waiting for Four’s recognition, “ said some pretty bad stuff to you too,” he sees Four nod before throwing another stone, “… and I pushed you…” he grimaces at the loud thud and pained whine echoing in his mind.

Four laughs awkwardly, “you did.”

Wind doesn’t know what to say. Apologising had never been so difficult before, why was it now? Four doesn’t look angry… but then, he never knows what’s going on in Four’s head.

“I’m sorry, Four.” He repeats, a little bit firmer than before.

“I don’t—I’ve already forgiven you, Wind,” Four turns around, a gentle smile on his face. He reaches for Wind and places a hand on his shoulder, “I won’t say it’s okay because it really wasn’t. None of it. But it happened and we can’t change that.”

He deflates upon Four’s touch. He looks down at his bare feet as angry tears start to fall again. There’s a faint ringing going from one side of his skull to the other, and he hears Four say something about hyperventilating and follow him. After a while, the ringing stops; his mind slowly registers that he is resting his head on Four’s shoulder. They have moved away from the shore and are sitting on drier soil. A cold breeze bites at his face, it’s then that he notices the purple overtaking the sky and the last rays of sunlight reflecting on the clouds.

“I don’t—I can’t—” he tries to say something but his breath hitches and Four shushes him, rocking them from side to side gently.

After a moment to collect his thoughts into what he believed would be something coherent, he asked, “why are you here?”

Four doesn’t miss a beat and truthfully answers, “I am worried about you.”

Wind figures he should have expected that, but his mind can’t wrap around the idea of any of his companions caring about him right now.

“I’m not here to shout at you, Wind. Not even here to tell you what you did was wrong because I’m sure you already know that,” Four squeezes Wind’s arm reassuringly, “I’m here to tell you that you can talk to me.”

If Wind thought he had already cried enough, he was damn wrong. He doesn’t have it in him to pinpoint why Four’s words are hitting him so hard, but his heart is already beating fast and his eyes feel heavy from holding tears back once more.

“I know what you did, but I want to know _why_ you did it,” there was no sternness in his voice, not even a hint of annoyance. Four lets go of his arm to pose his hand on Wind’s shoulder. “Only if you’d tell me, of course.”

It shouldn’t take him more than a second to confess his true motivation behind the entire act, but there is still a part of him that does not want to face the reality of it. Why did he drink from Warrior’s flask even though it burned his throat and made him gag? It hadn’t even made him feel better or happier, it just numbed him even more. It helped with the anger caused by all the coddling he received from the rest of the group, but it wasn’t enough to fix his feelings.

Why, exactly, did he think drinking would stop the others from seeing him as a dumb child?

“I’m just tired,” he simply says and doesn’t elaborate for a moment, “everyone treats me like I’m not… Like I’m _just_ a kid. It’s annoying.” He spots Four nod his head in agreement, and for a second, he feels his blood run cold because if anyone would understand how he feels, it would be Four. “I appreciate their concern, but it’s irritating.”

He knows he probably doesn’t have to explain more and that Four has already picked up on what was his logic behind his plan, but Four did say he could talk to him and talking about this is starting to feel better than throwing rock after rock.

“I tried taking longer watch shifts, but Time wouldn’t let me, “he starts listing his first ideas, “I tried carrying just as much stuff as Twilight, but he took the bags from me. I tried to fight those monsters that were lurking the other day but Warrior and Legend told me to go back to camp and did it themselves. I had no options left,” and he is aware of how dramatic that sounds in retrospect, “but then I saw Warrior drinking and I had an ‘aha!’ moment.” He can’t help but flinch at the end of his sentence because it is only after the words have left his mind that he really notices how stupid his idea was. He never claimed it to be a master plan, but he did not have an idea just how foolish he had been.

He lets out a sigh, whether it is of relief or exhaustion he doesn’t know, “how do you do it, Four?” he asks, “how do you get everyone to look treat you like an adult?”

Four let out a small laugh as if the question had been nothing more but a silly joke.

“Oh, don’t be so easily fooled, sailor. There’s still a lot of people that treat me like a child.” Four murmured something under his breath and shook his head. “Sadly, we don’t have control over how people see us. We can try to change, but that won’t guarantee anything.”

Dejected, Wind nods, “I see…”

When Wind is left with nothing else to say, Four suggests that they head back. He’s glad it’s Four who brings it up and not him because there is no way his voice doesn’t project the dread he feels when he thinks of the 7 men waiting for them.

They stand on wobbly legs, sore from sitting for so long. He feels a tingle run down his tights to his calves and he stretches his tired legs and arms.

The sky has turned completely dark, it’s been a while since the sun has gone completely out of their sight, the stars replacing it. The cool breeze seeps between his clothes and sends chills down his spine; a friendly, yet forceful invitation.

“I should apologise, right?”

Four chuckles and pats his back gently, “only if you feel like it. Are you feeling better?”

“Mhmm.”

When he thinks of Time, Twilight, Legend and Warrior he feels his insides turn, but not in a gut-wrenching, nauseating kinda way. It’s more of a slow, annoying pull; he is still mad at them, and he assumes that they must be mad at him as well. However, when the rest of his friends come into mind, all he can feel is an agonising pain rising from his chest through his throat, numbing his tongue and locking his jaw. His heart feels so big and heavy squished between his lungs, his frenetic pumping a contradiction to how cold and disoriented he feels; it’s guilt that clings to him and tries to draw him to the waters of the lake, it weights him down, taking him deeper and deeper until he reaches bottom and his lungs fill with everything and anything except water. It’s a matter of counting one, two, three…

He gasps for air, “what if they don’t want to listen?”

Four cocks his head, confusion showing in the crease of his brow.

“Hyrule, Wild and Sky… I want to apologise, but… what if they don’t…?” Wind quickly averts his eyes, instead, he focuses on the darkness of the still waters in front of him.

“Oh, Sailor…” is all that leaves Four’s lips before engulfing the younger hero in a tight one-armed hug. He rubs and pats his arm comfortingly. “We are more than just heroes travelling together by now. We are a family. There’s no way they won’t understand if you just talk to them.”

Four pulls him fully into a hug. Firm, but not restrictive. Warm, but not suffocating. He loops his arms around the multicoloured tunic and squeezes tightly. Four rests his chin on his shoulder, it is then that he realises that the smaller hero must be standing on tiptoes.6

The calm, soothing and tender tone of Four’s voice makes his entire body tremble, and for the first time in the entire day it is not out of dread nor fear, but pure happiness and relief.

They part away and exchange toothy smiles, arms still in hold of the other. A heartful laughter leaves Wind’s lips and Four’s soon follows. They lock eyes and it only takes one single look into Four’s hazel-but-now-the-warmest-blue eyes to know that there is no need for words to be said. There’s silence between them, but the lake is alive and there are frogs singing and grasshoppers accompanying them in their song, the voices of the forest no longer noise but a comforting orchestra playing in the background. ‘ _Thank you_ ’ he mouths instead and Four only squishes his forearm in response with a faint but caring smile.

It’s late and they probably should start making their way back to camp now before the others start looking for them. They don’t even bother putting their shoes back on, opting to walk back barefooted. There is no point in doing so when they will be taking them off as soon as they arrive.

Wind inhales deeply, there is no one, two, three at the back his mind. No pushing nor tugging at him and no thoughts drowning his mind into despair. There is a fleeting moment were doubt clouds his mind when they get closer and he hears Twilight’s laugh, he freezes in his tracks, the realisation of having to face them setting in. But that soon disappears when Four pulls at his wrists and whispers an “it’s okay”.

And he knows now that he shouldn’t have doubted Four. They arrive in time for dinner, Wild is passing servings around while he tells a story neither he nor Four can understand, but it still catches their attention. They take a seat next to each other on the ground, their backs resting against an old bark that cries under their weight, which he assumes was a space saved for them as it was the only empty one around the fire. With full stomachs and plenty of stories to hear, he feels his eyelids start to weight. He unconsciously rests his head against Four’s shoulder at some point. All he can remember before his eyes finally close is the crackling of the fire and the muffled sound of Legend cursing through the story of how he met the strange merchant that lives in his house.

* * *

“Here,”

He follows his fingers threading through the golden locks, carefully untangling knots and removing bits of leaves and stray twigs. He had moved Wind’s head from his shoulder to rest on his lap, the boy none the wiser to his new position. Four looks up from the sleeping boy and finds Twilight handing him a thin blanket.

“He finally calmed down?”

Four can’t help his face turning into a scowl; he’s tired and there is close to no connection between his mind and the rest of his body. He takes the blanket and gently covers the youngest hero with it.

“No. I knocked him out” he scoffs, “Of course he passed out, he’s been crying his eyes out the entire day.”

He sees Twilight’s eyes widen slightly, almost unnoticeable, but Four is focusing all his energy left on his gaze on Twilight.

Four had been trying to remain civil, his voice of reason telling him that confronting Twilight at this high hour of the night would serve of nothing, they were all tired after all. A part of him felt a bit bad, just a bit, for Twilight for what was bound to happen; the others couldn’t care less and so he spoke.

“The lot of you are so stupid,” he deadpans. “you guys were so harsh on him.”

Twilight opened his mouth as if to counter him, but Four beat him to it.

“You didn’t even give him a chance to speak.”

Twilight seems taken aback, not so much by the words but by the person they were coming from. He takes a step back, putting distance between the three and places his hands on his hips, a frown mirroring that of Four appears on his face.

An eye-roll and a huff, “we cannot let him get away with everything, Four, he’s –“

“He’s still kid, Twi, but he’s also a hero,” anger wells up in his chest and he attempts hard not to raise his voice for the sake of the sleeping boy in his lap – and the rest of the group –. “Wild goes out and does more stupid things far more often and you just put up with him,” he hisses and points to the general direction where he supposed Wild was, and when he spares him a glance he notices that he’s heard him, “At least _try_ to keep it fair.”

Wild winces and all Twilight can do is give him an apologetic look and a shrug. When he sets his attention back on Four, he is met with a cold glare.

“You only treat him like a child when it’s convenient for you,” he declares, his eyes completely set on Twilight’s; a silent battle he knows has been won from the very beginning because he is _right_ and Twilight _knows_ it.

And because he knows it, he doesn’t say anything. He clenches his jaw, making an awful sound when his teeth scrape against each other; displeasure evident in his stance.

“All of you owe him an apology.”

Even if Twilight doesn’t say anything back, Four knows that’s the end of their conversation. He catches Twilight nod his head, if a bit hesitant, before he steps away.

He turns his attention to the messy hair still tangled between his fingers and resumes his task of untangling it.

If there were any eyes on them, Four ignored them the entire time. At least he wouldn’t have to repeat himself to the rest of the group. Exhaustion takes the best of him and it’s not long before he starts to nod off. He finds a more comfortable position with his head using the bark as a makeshift pillow, sailor still as a rock resting his head on his lap. His eyes close to the lullaby of hushed voices and crackling fire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter gave me headaches because 14-years-olds , amirite? jk,jk!   
> But I do believe that 10/14-year-olds are hard to write because 1) I have no 14 years olds present in my life, except for my little brother but he doesn't count lol and 2)my experience as a 14yo would be of no use for the character in this chapter; however, I did manage to rescue some feelings from back then and used them in this so I'm happy with that.
> 
> Online teaching is kicking my butt, so updates might take some time, but I have no plans of making chapters this long, so hopefully it won't be /that/ long until next time~
> 
> Anywoo, any kudos/bookmarks/comments are deeply appreciated and legally given an inch of my heart, I'd love to read what you think! <3 If you ever want to chat I'm on tumblr as @kyoupann and Kyo☆#4531 on discord! <3
> 
> Remember to stay hydrated, take your meds, take a big breath and stretch! Wherever you are, I hope you're having a fantastic morning/day/night!


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